Overpass near Vogresovsky Bridge may collapse

In the Leninsky District of Voronezh, a high-alert regime was introduced on 10 July for local authorities and the Russian Unified State System for Prevention and Response to Emergencies (RSChS). The measure was required due to the erosion of the fill cone and exposure of piles at the overpass on 20-letiya Oktyabrya Street, near the Vogresovsky Bridge. A corresponding order by Mayor Sergei Petrin was published on 21 July.

A high-alert regime is activated when there is a threat of an emergency situation. Under this regime, monitoring of the hazardous facility is intensified, duty shifts are organized if necessary, and measures to prevent an emergency are taken more quickly.

The special regime was introduced to prevent the overpass from collapsing. The city’s Civil Defense and Emergency Situations Department will assess the extent of the structural damage. Then a contract will be signed to reinforce the fill cone and repair the overpass structures. The head of the city’s Road Management Department, Maria Fomina, has been appointed as the person in charge of preventing an emergency.

The Vogresovsky Bridge in its current form is the oldest bridge across the reservoir. It was built in 1954. Authorities have repeatedly announced plans to repair the bridge because the concrete protective layer is deteriorating and there are holes in the pedestrian section. It even reached the point of proposals to demolish the bridge and build a new one in its place. But in the end, it was decided to forgo even major repairs — it turned out to be too expensive.

UPD. As the city administration reported, the high-alert regime in this particular case was introduced “to more quickly carry out measures to restore the specified section under the road surface, which had been eroded.” It will not affect traffic on the overpass. A contract to eliminate the emergency situation is expected to be signed in the near future.